Tagged: velovixen

The Velovixen Women’s Cycling hub at the 2017 NEC Cycle Show hosted a line up of speakers (including me!) who got together to discuss what it means to be a woman who rides a bike. This is the second time I’ve spoken at the event and my talk was called ‘Get Over It’ and dealt with cycling and fear (I seem to be have become something of an expert on this!!). Here it is!

The VeloVixen Cycling Hub at the NEC Cycling Show 2016

Being fully aware of the quality of the speakers on board, I made sure I arrived in good time on Saturday to catch some of the other women at the event. I’m really glad I arrived in time for the Q&A with Corrine Hall MBE, not only because I got to hold her Paralympic gold medal but also because she told us all about winning at Rio 2016 with tandem partner Lora Turnham, who is blind. Corinne explained that they weren’t expected to win their event and so she was thrilled when they crossed the line first but, due to the nature of her disability, Lora is not aware of how they have done until Corrine tells her – so her delight was doubled when she got to tell her team mate that they had won.

Corinne Hall’s paralympic gold medal from Rio 2016

The gold medal chimes when you shake it, with different sounds for the silver and bronze medals to differentiate between the three.

At the end of the day I caught up with the talk by Emily Chappell and Lee Craigie from The Adventure Syndicate. They are great speakers as well as experts on adventure and distance cycling, and I loved their honesty when it came to discussing how demanding such riding can be. Emily described how she draws upon her ‘invisible peloton’ for strength when the going gets tough. This imaginary group of her friends and role models enables her to think about what these people would say to support her on the road, and draw strength from them. I love this idea and will definitely be calling upon my own invisible peloton next time I’m starting to flag.

The Adventure Syndicate

Now here’s a quick round up of the talks from the rest of the weekend.

Friday –the first day – and the hub got off to a great start with a Q&A session with legendary mtb champion Tracey Moseley , a talk on the media coverage of women’s cycling by Laura Winter from VoxWomen and cycling presenter Rebecca Charlton, as well as a discussion between Julie Rand from Cycling UK, Diane Jeggo (who also compared throughout the event!) from Breeze and Liz Colebrook of Beaumont Cycles on ways in which women’s cycling is blooming. Finally Fran Whyte urged everyone to try CycloCross in her talk.

Saturday kicked off with a discussion ‘Beyond Selling Stuff’ with Lynne Bye, founder of Fat Lad/Lass at the Back, Judith Smith, MD of Primal Europe and Rhian Ravencroft, the founder of Theo. The Corinne Hall Q&A followed, and then Emily Chappell, Sarah Perry and Julia Tilley spoke about the ‘Le Loop’ TDF ride. After my talk Emily returned to the stage with her Adventure Syndicate partner Lee Craigie, to discuss cycling adventures.

Sunday included a talk on how cycling clubs can get it right for women, hosted by Kate Horsfall, Fran Whyte, Kay Young and Eleanor Pye. Also on stage that day were Anna Glowinski and Transcontinental riders Grace Lambert-Smith and Eleanor Ceindeg. There was a Q&A session with Jo Rowsell Shand, a talk on lower body power from Simone Dalley (Triathlon Age Group World Champion and Personal Trainer) and, last but not least, VeloVixen co-founder Liz Bingham spoke about the ‘10,000km date’ that led to the creation of VeloVixen!

I suggest you free up an evening, open a bottle of wine, and watch them all here

I know it wasn’t just me who felt that, compared to last year, there were more women at the Cycle Show (previously it has been a complete MAMIL fest!) and it was fantastic to see so many women (and men!) at the hub, listening to us and asking some great questions. Can’t wait for next year!

P.S. I’m on a public-speaking roll now…I’ll be giving a more in depth talk on Fear and MTB at Findra HQ in Innerleithen on October 12th, at 7.30 pm

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There were some rather beautiful bicycles and accessories at the NEC 2015 Cycle Show – here’s a few favourites.

High shine and a limited edition from Colnago

Colnago

This bike by Colnago is a limited edition reproduction of a 1984 30 year anniversary model. That’s all I know, other than the fact that it is also rather lovely.

Award winning MET Parachute HES

MET Parachute HES

An award winning design, this is the lightest full face helmet in the world and is ideal for Enduro riders and those who like to ride on the edge. It is strong, lightweight, highly ventilated. And pink.

Women’s cycling by Velovixen

Velovixen

A great range for women cyclists – highlights include Urbanist padded knickers in a new range of designs, this cute Bobbin leather saddlebag, Morvelo’s colourful road kit and this mountain bike t-shirt, which speaks for itself.

I am really happy to report that, as well as writing here, I have been invited to contribute to the Velovixen blog each month. Velovixen is a UK-based women’s cycling site. Founded by Liz and Phil Bingham a couple of years ago, the site champions women’s cycling as well as selling some great kit. I am really looking forward to working with them.

Here is a link to the first post I have written for Velovixen, on a subject which is very dear to my heart – outdoor exercise! Enjoy, and don’t forget to add your own reasons for working out outdoors (I am sure there are more than six!).

What’s a girl to wear ‘down there’ cycling? Lets face it, ordinary pants soon wipe the smile off your face, especially as it’s impossible to adjust wayward elastic at a red light when surrounded by commuters. And no one wants to ride with bulky cycling shorts beneath their J-Brands or Whistles work skirt.

Delve deeper into this dilemma and imagine you have secured yourself a cycling date with the man of your dreams. A couple of circuits of the park and a few beers later, then its back to yours and the realisation that it’s impossible to remove a pair of cycling shorts in a seductive fashion (this applies to both genders, by the way), especially when they leave a non-too fetching imprint of a gripper band on your thighs.

And then there’s your birthday: your other half secretly wants to surprise you with something a little bit ‘va-va voom’ – but needs the comfort man-blanket of knowing that he’s also getting you something practical for the bike. Surely there is an alternative to receiving a fluffy red g-string and a bottle of Muc Off?

Or what if you just like wearing nice pants and riding your bike? Or want something discreet but effective to wear beneath workout gear for your spin class?

Hurrah! Here comes Bettie to solve every one of these pressing women’s cycling issues!

Created in Texas, Bettie is, basically, a really nice pair of pants with a slim (think panty liner) cycling chamois inside. The pad is flexible, breathable, quick drying and moisture wicking. It’s also invisible beneath clothes. And, while I wouldn’t recommend these pants for a day on your road bike, they are brilliant for any other type of riding: I’ve worn mine for mountain biking many times. Hey, I’ve even got QOMs in them (though frankly my legs are taking ALL the credit for those). The pants also feature extra stretch round the leg openings to avoid chaffing. They are easy to wash and quick to dry (much quicker than conventional cycling shorts!)

They are also quite beautifully to behold: silky fabric with mesh side panels and a ruched detail mid-back gives them a lingerie look and feel. There are ‘sister pants’ too: The Brigitte is a hooped black and white design with a bit more of a vintage look.

At £42 Bettie is, price wise, a world away from an M&S pack of five. However wear them as an alternative to cycling shorts and they start to look like a bit more of a bargain: so much so that I’m reliably informed that they are now a best seller at Velovixen.

In short, if you’re a lingerie lover and a cyclist, then they’re a bit of a must have. Buy them here:

* Further update, prompted by a friend who failed to realise that you need to wear shorts over the top of your Betties …. You need to wear shorts over the top, you really do.